Nights of Dubai blasts drive family back; Calcutta couple, children see safe haven shaken by war
Telegraph | 5 April 2026
A Calcutta couple have returned to the city from their home in Dubai, unable to cope with weeks of bomb alerts, explosions and sleepless nights amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The couple, along with their son and daughter, arrived in Calcutta on Wednesday night. They pray the US-Israeli war on Iran will end within weeks so they can return to Dubai and resume their lives.
The UAE and other Gulf countries have faced repeated drone attacks and interceptions following Iran’s response to US-Israeli strikes.
Sleepless nights
“For the past few weeks, I have barely slept,” said the woman in her mid-30s. “There would be explosions between midnight and early morning. The loud noise kept me awake through the night.”
She and her husband work in Dubai and live in a high-rise in the Burj Khalifa district.
“There is no fixed pattern to the explosions, but they seem more frequent at night. I am mentally and physically exhausted because of the stress and lack of sleep,” she said. “I kept fearing a drone might hit our building.”
Most explosions, caused by interceptions of drones, occurred far from their residence but were loud enough to be unsettling.
A recent one felt dangerously close.
“It was deafening and much nearer than before. My children woke up, and none of us slept the rest of the night,” she said. “It was unbearable.”
Fear outside
The woman, who earlier drove about 30 minutes daily to work, stopped driving. “For the past few weeks, I used app cabs. I didn’t have the courage to drive,” she said.
She feared debris from intercepted drones could hit her vehicle. “I’m also afraid I might fall asleep at the wheel due to exhaustion,” she added.
The anxiety made even stepping out difficult. “I would ask myself why I should go out at all. I am not a first responder,” she said.
While her husband worked remotely and her daughter attended online classes, she continued going to office.
“In the initial days of the war, the roads were completely deserted. Later, traffic returned, but there was a visible increase in security personnel,” she said.
She took leave from work and travelled to Calcutta with her family.
Life upended
The couple had moved to Dubai from Calcutta in 2015.
“Dubai was the perfect place to live. There are no hate crimes, and both the government and locals are welcoming towards expatriates,” she said. “It is also conveniently located for travel to Europe and the US.”
That sense of security has been shaken. Everything changed overnight once the war began and the UAE became a target.
Mobile phones buzzed constantly with alerts warning of possible drone attacks, day and night. Conversations everywhere revolved around the conflict.
Many of their friends and acquaintances are from Lebanon and Iran.
“Friends from Lebanon say Israeli troops have stormed their villages. Some of their relatives have fled, others remain there. Those from Iran and Lebanon are extremely worried about their families,” she said.
Friends in Kuwait have also spoken about similar drone attacks.
“It is deeply depressing,” she said. “We could feel the war all around us.”